Memorial Stone Nine: My First Church!


      Fifty miles east of Pueblo, Colorado you will come to a town called Rocky Ford. Rocky Ford was named by the famed frontier scout Kit Carson, who found a passable crossing (Rocky) across the Arkansas River. Rocky Ford is the melon capital of the world, and the location of my first church the Washington Avenue Baptist Church from 1988-1991. 

When Laura and Brian and I arrived in August of 1988 we were filled with joy and optimism for this very first assignment from the Lord. The Church had struggled for some time. No one had been baptized in three years. Mission giving the year before we arrived totaled $2.00 dollars! The congregation had dwindled to around 15 in Worship on a good day. Bible study attendance on Sunday mornings was in the single digits…and three of them were us!

When I surveyed my first Church I discovered 11 broken windows, and there were bees in the steeple! 

Nevertheless, I was filled with faith! I truly believed that God could take any place anywhere and transform it with His limitless power! 

Soon after I arrived I talked with the former Pastor, my youthful enthusiasm (I was 27) boiling over as I asked him about the potential of the Church. He replied with a weary almost exhausted statement:

“There is not much potential here, half the town has Spanish surnames, it’s primarily a Catholic town”

His words at first served to dowse my passion…then I thought to myself you act like God is dead!

The first thing I did as a Pastor was to clean out the baptistry that had been used for storage! I then started an outreach program…and while response was slow at first I saw what God can do, when you believe, when you ask Him to change lives….to change a Church! 

In my three years as Pastor we saw over 100 people come to Christ, and I baptized 27 the first year!  Washington Avenue Baptist Church was second in the state of Colorado in baptisms in 1989 among churches with less than 200 members, and seventh in the state without regard to membership size!

           This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. (Psalm 118:23). 

I am not a member of the “Since I came club.” I knew who brought life to that congregation, the same one who can change any circumstance. 

I well remember a congregation who truly sought the Lord in prayer. To this very moment I have yet to see such fervent prayer offered up to the Lord at the altar each Wednesday night. And God responded!

The people were so very kind to me. We did some innovative things. One of the first was to schedule Wanda Jackson to sing in concert. I honestly did not know who she was, but the people in Rocky Ford did…and the Church was filled to capacity that night! Wanda  is still popular…and is a member of the Rock and Roll hall of fame. 

By the way, we renovated the facility, fixed all the windows and gave the bees and eviction notice!

When God called us away to another Church attendance was solidly in the 80s overall giving had tripled and missions giving was several thousand per year. The Lord taught us all the most valuable of lessons...

 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6).

This classic song by the Imperials reminds me that the Lord can change any situation for His Glory!! Enjoy!

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